Textile product and process



Patented Feb. 17, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- TEXTILE PRODUCTPROCESS Robert D. MacLaurin, Lakewood, Ohio, assignor to IndustrialRayon Corporation, Cievelan Ohio, a corporation of Delaware No Drawing.Application November 1, 194 4,

' Serial No. 561,498

12 Claims. (or. ass-a9) twisting. In performing the twisting operationsand in the weaving and hitting steps themselves, it is necessary to passthe yarns over a variety of guides, bobbins and other mechanical deviceswhich ofler frictional resistance to the yarn and which, accordingly,tend to subject the yarn to abrasive action. ,It is of course desirableto eliminate such abrasive wear as completely as possible.

This invention provides a new yarn-treating and conditioning compositionwhich makes possible the production of yarns which ofler a verysubstantially reduced frictional resistance to the various mechanicaldevices over which the yarn travels in the course oi twisting. knittingor weaving operations with the result that abrasive wear is kept to aminimum. In addition, yarn which has been treated with the newcompositions of this invention has its twist somewhat stabilized or setso that the yarn has less tendency to snarl or become motted in passingover the various yarn guides, etc., incident to its iormation intoknitted or woven products; A further advantage of yarns which have beentreated with the new tend to clog yarn guides, knitting needles, etc.The new yarn-conditioning composition is chemically and physicallystable both in storage and after application to the yarn.

The new yarn-conditioning composition comprises a hydrogenated fish oiland a product formed by reacting an alkylene oxide with a partialpolyester of a fatty acid containing at least 12 carbon atoms and apolyhydric alcohol such as the hexahydric alcohols and their anhydroderivatives. New yarn products are produced in accordance with thisinvention by treating yam with this yam-conditioning composition.

The hydrogenated fish oils employed in practicing this invention aresolid and waxy in nature and advantageously have iodine numbers below'reacting an alkylene oxide wih a partial fatty acid polyester underelevated pressures in the presenc of suitable catalysts such as, forexample, alkali metal hydroxides, e. g., sodium and potassium hydroxide,and alkali metal alkoxides such as compositions is that the filamentscomprising the yam are protected by the new conditioning composition sothat they are less apt to snag during the course of the knitting orweaving operation. The new yarns oi this invention may be used withparticular advantage in the production of hosiery.

An important advantage oi the new yarn-conditioning compositions is thatthey may be readily removed from the yarn alter the yarn has beenknitted or woven into a textile product. The yam-conditioningcomposition may be readily and effectively removed by means of ordinaryaqueous washing or detergent compositiom. A further advantage oi the newyarn-conditioning compositions is that the coemcient of friction of theyarn to which the composition is applied is not so low as to permitexcessive slippage of the yarn during its'manufacture into a textileproduct and, consequently, non-uniiormity of the fabric due to thiscause is minimized.

The new yarn-conditioning composition is'not corrosive to the variousparts oi the textile fabricating devices with" which the yarn comes intocontact and, in addition, the composition does not sodium methoxide,etc. Alkylene oxide reaction products which may be used with advantageare those prepared by reacting at least about 20 moles of the alkyleneoxide with one mole of the ester. The alkylene oxides employed mayinclude compounds such as ethylene oxide and propylene oxide althoughthe employment of ethylene oxide is preferred The partial fatty acidpolyester may be derived from such hexahydric alcohols and their anhydroderivatives as sorbitol, mannitol, dulcitol, sorbitan and mannitan. Thefatty acid portion of the ester is advantageously derived from fattyacids containing at least 12 carbon atoms and may include saturatedfatty acids such as lauric, myristic, palmitic and stearic, andunsaturated and hydroxy fatty acids such as oleic, ricinolelc, etc. Thepartial polyesters may advantageously be either predominantly di-esterstri-esters or mixtures thereof. The partial polyesters all containunesterified portions of the alcoholic residue of the ester which arecapable of being reacted with an alkylene oxide.

Among the specific partial polyesters which may be reacted with at leastabout 20 moles of an alkylene oxide, e. g., ethylene oxide, to produceone of the components of the new yamconditioning composition may bementioned sorbitan trioleate, mannitan trioleate, sorbitan trilaurate,mannitan trilaurate, etc.

In making up the yarn-treating composition of this invention, theproportions, by weight, may

assume 3 4 advantageously be about 0.82 to 1 parts of hydrogenated fishoil to about 1 part of the alkylene oxide reaction product. Thesecomponents the composition may advantageously be mixed or blended bybeating them until a molten mass is obtained. The presence of small,amounts of water, e. g., from 5 to in the alkylene oxide reactionproduct facilitates admixture and blending of this component with thehydrogenated fish oil.

Although the composition may be applied to yarn in the molten orundiluted form, it is more advantageously applied in a diluted form,such as a solution or dispension, depending somewhat upon the degree ofsolubility or dispersibility of the composition in the medium employed.It is particularly advantageous to apply the composition in the form ofsolutions or dispersions containing about .3% to 5.0%, by weight in theaggregate, of the hydrogenated fish oil and the alkylene oxide reactionproduct. In making up aqueous dispersions, it is advantageous to use upto about 0.5% (based on the aggregate weight of the hydrogenated fishoil and allwle'ne oxide reaction product) of a suitable alkalinedispersing agent such as an alkylolamine, e. 8-. triethanolamine. Smallamounts of tetrachlorphenol may also be added to the dispersion as astabilfor example, dispersions having light transmissions of at leastabout 80% by the Fischer Electrophotometer A. C. Model at 1.5%. byweight,

concentrations, and when containing only the I hydrogenated fish oil andalkylene oxide reaction products of the yarn-conditioning composition ofthis invention.

The composition of this invention'is advantageously applied to the yarnprior to the twisting operations. The treated yarn may, ifdesired, bedried before being subjected to twisting. In the production of textilematerials from yarns such as regenerated cellulosic yarns. it sparticularly advantageous to treat the yarn before it has been subjectedto the first drying stage normally incident to its production. This maybe done with especial advantage when viscose rayon, for example, isproduced by ,the continuous process as described in Terrence Patent No.2,284,497 by applying an aqueous dispersion of the yarn-treatingcomposition to the viscose rayon just prior to the delivery of the yarnto the drying reel on which the yarn is continuously dried prior totwisting. The amount of the composition deposited on the yarn may rangefrom about .75 to 10%, by weight, of the yarn and more advantageouslyfrom 2%"to about 4%. The invention will be more fully by referdeposit onthe yarn of 3 a refractive index at 25 c. of about 1.405, anacidqnumber. or 0.15, and a pH in 4% solution of 8. I y I Thehydrogenated fish oil and ethylene oxide reaction product were heated toabout to 0. About 207 grams oi triethanolamine were s then added to theliquid mixture and the temperature was thereafter increased to about 85C. to form a clear solution. Suificient hot water at a temperaturebetween about and C. was then added to the solution to make a 15%. byweight, dispersion. The addition of water was completed within a periodof no more than 30 minutes and during the entire period the temperatureof thesolution was maintained at a minimum of 75 0., the solution beingvigorously stirred during the addition of the water. Thereafter, thedispersion was quickly cooled, within a period of about 30 minutes, toa-temperature or about 20 C. by means of a cooling coil. The operationsof adding water and stirring were conducted so as to prevent the suckingin of air. 1700 grams of tetrachlorphenol, dissolved in 10 liters ofwater were then added to the 15%, by weight, dispersion.

A dispersion of very fine particle size was "obtained. A portion of the15% dispersion diluted with water to form a 1.5%, by weight, dispersionshowed a light transmission of over 80% by the Fischer ElectrophotometerA. C. Model. The origsisnal 15% solution had a light transmission of A1.5% aqueous dispersion was applied to wet, freshly spun and washed 75denier, 30 filament, untwisted, continuous-filament, viscose rayon yarn.while the yarn was being temporarily stored on a thread-advancing,thread-storing reel, Just prior to the drying stage of a continuousrayon spinning and processing machine as-described. for example, inTorrence Patent No. 2,284,497. The yarn was there treated for about tento fifteen seconds. The treated yarn was continuously advanced to asucceeding thread-advancing, thread-storage device upon which it wasdried and thereafter collectedon bobbins.

Then the yarn was given about 30 to 35 turns I per inch twist andthereafter knitted into hosence to the following example although it isto be understood that the invention is not limited thereto.

Example one mole of sorbitan trioleate. The hydrogenicry. Etherextractions of the hosiery showed a V496 to 3%%, by weight. of theyarn-conditioning composition. The hosiery was easily and quicklyscoured free of its yarn-conditioning composition by washing in aqueousdetergent compositions. The hosiery was remarkably free from snags,pulls and fits.- ment breakages, had a very uniform construction and wasof very desirable quality.

Although the foregoing example illustrates the application of theinvention to hosiery type viscose rayon, i. e. regenerated cellulose,yarns as produced by the continuous rayon spinning and processingmethods, it is to be understood that the invention is not intended to belimited thereto. The invention may be employed with advantage inproducing staple fiber yarns, and

ated fish oil had a melting point of about 50 c., 10

an iodine number of about 30, less than 0.5% free, fatty acid and asaponification number of about 190. The ethylene oxide reaction productis a syrupy liquid containing about 5% water and" having a specificgravity at 25- C. of about 1.022, lo

yarns of any denier useful in the textile field. Theyarn-treating'composition of this invention may also be employed withyarns made from nonmetallic, organic filamentary materials such as, forexample, cellulose acetate, cotton, nylon, natural and artificial wools.etc. It may be applied to yarns in package form or in skein form asdistinguished from the method described in theabov'e example. Suchpackages or skeins may be immersed with advantage in solutions of thecomposition ingredients, such as, for example, in

, weight, of about 1 part of said ethylene oxide position comprisinghydrogenated fish oil and a product formed by reacting at least aboutmoles of an alkylene oxide with one mole of a partial polyester 01 afatty acid containing at least twelve carbon atoms and a polyhydricalcohol selected fromthe group consisting of hexahydric alcohols and theanhydro derivatives of such alcohols; said hydrogenated fish oil andester reaction product being present in said composition in proportions,by weight, of about 0.82 to 1 parts of said hydrogenated fish oil to 1part of said ester reaction product; said hydrogenated fish oil having amelting point of between about C. and 60 C.

2. A yarn which has been treated with a composition comprising ahydrogenated fish oil and a reaction product formed by reacting at leastabout twenty moles of ethylene oxide with one mole of a sorbitan partialpolyester 01 a fatty acid containing at least twelve carbon atoms; saidcomposition ingredients being present in proportions, by weight, ofabout 1 part of said ethylene oxide reaction product to from about .32to 1 parts of the hydrogenated fish oil; said hydrogenated fish oilhaving a melting point between 30 C. and 60 C. and an iodine numberbelow about 50, and said yarn having been treated so that in a dry stateit contains a total of about to 10.0%, by weight, of said compositioningredients.

3. A yarn which has been treated with a composition comprising ahydrogenated fish oil and a reaction product formed by reacting at leastabout twenty moles of ethylene oxide with one mole of a partialpolyester of a fatty acid containing at least twelve carbon atoms and apolyhydric alcohol selected from the group consisting of hexahydricalcohols and the anhydro derivatives of such alcohols; said hydrogenatedfish oil and ethylene oxide reaction product being present inproportions, by weight, of about 1 part of said ethylene oxide reactionproduct to from about .82 to 1 parts of the hydrogenated fish oil; saidhydrogenated fish oil having a melting point between 30 C. and 60 C. andan iodine number below about 50 and said yarn having been treated sothat in a dry state it contains a total of about 175% to 10.0%, byweight, of said ingredients.

4. A regenerated cellulose yarn which has been treated with compositioncomprising a hydrogenated fish oil and a reaction product formed byreacting at least about twenty moles of ethylene oxide with one mole ofsorbitan trioleate; said hydrogenated fish oil and ethylene oxidereaction product being present in said composition in proportions, byweight, of about 1 part of said ethylene oxide reaction product to fromabout .82 to 1 parts of the hydrogenated fish 011; said hydrogenatedfish oil having a melting point between C. and 55 C. and an iodinenumber I below about said yarn having been treated so that in a drystate it contains a total of about .8% to 4% of said compositioningredients.

5. A regenerated cellulose yarn which has been treated with acomposition comprising a hydrogenated fish oil and a reaction productformed by reacting at least about twenty moles of ethylene oxide withone mole of mannitan trioleate; said hydrogenated fish oil and ethyleneoxide reaction product being present in proportions. by

reaction product to from about .82 to 1 parts of the hydrogenated fishoil: said hydrogenated fish oil having a melting point between 40' C.and 55 C. and an iodine number below about 45,

said yarn having been treated so that in a dry state it contains a totalof about .8% to 4%. by weight, of said ingredients,

6. A composition for the treatment of yarns,

threads, filaments, and the like, comprising a hydrogenated fish oil anda product formed by reacting at least about 20 moles of an alkyleneoxide with one mole oi. a partial polyester of a fatty acid containingat least twelve carbon atoms and a polyhydric alcohol selected from thegroup consisting of hexahydric alcohols and the anhydro derivatives ofsuch alcohols; said hydrogenated fish oil and ester reaction productbeing present in said composition in proportions, by weight, of about0.82 to 1 parts of said hydrogenated fish oil to 1 partof said esterreaction product; said hydrogenated fish oil having a melting point ofbetween about 30 C. and 60 C.

7. A composition for the treatment of yarns, threads, filaments, and thelike, comprising a hydrogenated fish oil and a product formed byreacting at least about twenty moles of ethylene oxide with one mole ofa partial polyester oi a fatty acid containing at least twelve carbonatoms and a polyhydric alcohol selected from the group consisting ofhexahydric alcohols and the anhydro derivatives oi such alcohols; saidhydrogenated fish oil and ester reaction product being present in saidcomposition in proportions, by weight, of about 0.82 to 1 parts oi saidhydrogenated fish oil to 1 part of said ester reaction product; saidhydrogenated fish oil having a melting point of between about 30 C. and60 C.

8. A composition for the treatment of yarns, threads, filaments, and thelike comprising a hydrogenated fish oil and a product formed by reactingat least about twenty moles of ethylene oxide with one mole of a partialpolyester of a fatty acid containing at least twelve carbon atoms and apolyhydric alcohol selected from the group consisting of hexahydricalcohols and the anhydro derivatives of such alcohols; said compositioningredients being present in proportions, by weight, of about 1 part ofsaid ethylene oxide reaction product to from about .82 to 1 parts of thehydrogenated fish oil; said hydrogenated fish oil having a, meltingpoint between 30 C. and 60 C. and an iodine number below about 50.

9. A composition for the treatment of yarns, threads, filaments, and thelike, comprising an aqueous dispersion of about .3% to 5.0%, by weight,combined concentration of a hydrogenated fish oil and a product formedby reacting at-least about twenty moles of ethylene oxide with one moleof a sorbitan partial polyester of a fatty acid containing at leasttwelve carbon atoms; said composition ingredients being present inproportions, by weight, of about 1 part of said ethylene oxide reactionproduct to from about .82 to 1 parts of the hydrogenated fish oil; saidhydrogenated fish oil having a melting point between 30 C. and 60 C..andan iodine number below about 50.

10. A composition for the treatment of regenerated cellulose yarns,threads, filaments, and the like, comprising an aqueous dispersion ofabout .3% to 5.0%, by weight, combined concentration of a hydrogenatedfish oil and a product formed by reacting at least about twenty moles ofethylene oxide with one mole of sorbitan trioleate; said compositioningredients beingpresent in proportions. by weight, of about 1 part oisaid ethylene oxide reaction product to from about .82 to 1 parts ofthe'hydrogenated fish oil: said hydrogenated fish oil having a meltingpoint between 40' C. and 55 C. and an iodine number below about 45. i

11.1 composition for the treatment of regenerated cellulose yarns,threads, filaments, and the like, comprising an aqueous dispersion ofabout .3% to 5.0%, by weight, combined concentration of a hydrogenatedfish oil and a product formed by reacting at least about twenty moles oiethylene oxide with one mole of mannitan trioleate: said compositioningredients being present in proportions, by weight, of about 1 part ofsaid ethylene oxide reaction product to irom about .82 to 1 parts of thehydrogenated fish oil; ,said hydrogenated fish oil having a meltingpoint between 40 C and 55 C. and an iodine number below about 45.

12. A composition for the treatment of regenera'ted cellulose yarns,threads, filaments, and the like, comprising an aqueous dispersion ofabout .3% to 5.0%, by weight, combined concentration of a hydrogenatedfish oil and a product formed by reacting at least about twenty moles ofethylene-oxide with one mole of sorbitan trilaurate; said compositioningredients being present in proportions, by weight, of about 1 part ofsaid ethylene oxide reaction product to from I about .82 to 1 parts ofthe hydrogenated fish 011;

said hydrogenated fish oil having a melting'point between 40 C. and 55C. and an iodine number below about 45.-

ROBERT D. MAcLAURIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES 15 "Spans and Tweens, pamphletpublished by Atlas Powder 00., Dec. 1943. pa es 2 and 11.

